The New Adventures of Sliders: The Next Generation
by Black Scarab
Summary: Following the conclusion of Sliders: TNG, our intrepid trio continues their sliding journey in their ever-continuing quest to locate Earth Prime.
1. Prologue

Prologue:

 _In 1995, Quinn Mallory, Wade Welles, Professor Maximillian Arturo and Rembrandt "The Cryin Man" Brown disappeared without a trace from Quinn's basement laboratory. Nearly two decades later, Michael Josephson, a college student who discovered Quinn's notes, attempted to replicate the experiment along with his friend Sam Evans, traveling to another world and meeting Rebecca Collins. They ended up lost like Quinn when a shockwave shorted out the timer's motherboard, erasing their and Rebecca's home coordinates. The trio spent their time escaping from danger, losing and regaining the timer and hoping that eventually they'd find their way home. On the way they met Quinn and his group of sliders, which now included his brother Colin and Captain Maggie Beckett, an army officer they had met on their journey._

 _The trio's quest continued, but was derailed when Michael realized they were being tracked by the evil Kromagg general Tiberius, along with Michael's evil double, and Michael abandoned Sam and Rebecca to protect them, escaping the Kromaggs and ending up on Earth Prime. After rebuilding the timer, he went back to find Sam and Rebecca, but they got captured by the Kromaggs and detained, learning about a planned invasion of Earth Prime, and stealing a Manta ship, they give Earth Prime a fighting chance, and free Michael's double, who adopts the name James to differentiate themselves, helps them and returns to his own world to save it from the Kromaggs. Eventually, with the help of The Doctor, an alien with a time machine, they foil Tiberius once again and locate Rebecca's home coordinates and go there to return her home, but due to a case of mistaken intentions, they are arrested and Rebecca is forced to abandon her home once again._

 _Following that, they continue their journey, until they end up separated, with Rebecca reuniting with James, and Michael and Sam on trial for alleged crimes against the multiverse. During the trial, Quinn and his group end up landing there too, along with Rebecca and the trial is revealed to be happening in a simulation, run by Logan St. Clair, an old foe from Quinn's past. Logan, a female double of Quinn, was thought to be dead, but had instead been sent to the past of the Kromagg homeworld, putting the entire Kromagg-Human War into action as an attempt to destroy Quinn, revealing that nearly every problem that the original Sliders ran into was a result of Logan's revenge plans, the Kromaggs, Arturo's death, Wade being sent to the breeding camp, Quinn's apparent merging with Mallory and Colin becoming "unstuck", were all attempts to get led back to Earth Prime, so Logan could take it over, as a final piece of revenge. They escape imprisonment and Quinn, Maggie and Michael go to raise an army and send the rest of the group home._

 _They all meet up again, as Quinn formulates a plan to stop the Kromaggs for good. Combining his double's slidewave machine, Geiger's Combine and the Slidecage, he plans to use those to isolate all the Kromaggs onto a world that is impossible to escape from. They work on and go to head Kromagg outpost to activate the machine and destroy the Kromaggs once and for all. They succeed in stopping Logan and activate the device, causing all the Kromaggs on the outpost, and throughout the multiverse to get sucked into a world where they will be contained. However, the device's heavy strain on the multiverse causes all their timers to start timing out, and Quinn and the others leave first, leaving just Michael, Sam and Rebecca behind, as their timer had a few minutes on it's timer. As they stand there, the timer was shot out of Michael's hands, revealing Tiberius had survived the slidewave as he had been close to the epicenter of the blast radius, and was untouched._

 _Tiberius takes Rebecca hostage and forces Michael and Sam to reverse the wave, they comply, but before he can react, they shoot him with the device and causes him to become unstuck, meaning he would not be dead, but be sent hurtling through the multiverse without a permanent physical form, however that fact is not known to the trio. Their timer is glitching as it times out, so they are unsure if they should use it, but as the world they are on might soon become unable to slide to or from, they slide anyway, ending up on the first world they landed on together, without their home coordinates, putting them back where it all began. Their sliding adventures continue, with them finding new friends, new enemies and countless more worlds before they can return home._


	2. Chapter 1

Chapter 1:

The trio walked down a bustling street in the middle of San Francisco. It was normal, aside from huge billboards, proclaiming an upcoming musical film about a founding father.

"I can't believe that it's been six months since we started sliding aimlessly again." Rebecca said.

"What I can't believe is how they made a musical about Aaron Burr. I mean, seriously, a hip-hop inspired musical about a founding father? I think that cinches it that this isn't our Earth." Michael said.

"Yeah, although the soundtrack is pretty good." Sam said. "How much time do we have left?"

"Let me check." Michael said, pulling the timer out of his pocket. "Three minutes."

"Just enough time to buy a hot dog." Sam said as he started to walk towards a hot dog cart.

"But not enough time to eat it." Rebecca said, grabbing Sam by the arm and pulling him back.

"Aww, come on!" Sam said.

"I am not cleaning sauerkraut out of my hair again." Rebecca said.

"Jeez, it happens once and you don't let a guy forget it." Sam said.

"Come on guys," Michael said. "Let's find a quiet place to slide."

"Does that quiet place always have to be an alleyway?" Rebecca asked.

"It's the only place that there's no one around to see it." Michael replied. "Would be nice to not have to step in garbage juice before we slide, though."

"Let's go." Sam said, sulking. "I bet the next world is going to have outlawed hot dogs..."

The trio walked down the alley and stopped near a gate at the end of the alley. Michael held the timer and aimed it at the gate. He activated the timer and the swirling blue vortex appeared. The trio jumped into the vortex as it closed behind them. They emerged on the other side, landing on a dusty road. They stood up and looked around. Sam started looking over the horizon as Michael noticed something behind him.

"Dusty road... hey, maybe this is James' world." Rebecca said.

"I don't think so." Michael said as he walked over to a torn up section of road. "Looks like an earthquake... That's weird."

"Not really. This is San Francisco, we are known to have earthquakes here." Rebecca said.

"No, I mean that this looks fresh. Like it happened yesterday." Michael said.

"It's very possible that it did. We'd better be careful of aftershocks." Rebecca said.

"Uh guys, we've got company." Sam said as a military-like jeep drove up towards them.

Three people, two men and a woman, dressed in torn clothing with dirt all over their faces got out, aiming shotguns at the trio.

"We don't want any trouble." Michael said as the trio put their hands up.

The trio was led into the back of the jeep where they were tied up, and patted down, with the woman taking the timer out of Michael's pocket, and one of the men, a large man with sunglasses, got into the back with them, as the other man and the woman got in the front and started driving.

"So, what're you? Humaggs or something?" the large man asked.

"Humaggs? You mean Kromaggs?" Sam questioned.

"Humaggs, Kromaggs, they're all maggots to me." the large man replied.

"We're not Kromaggs, if that's what you think." Rebecca said.

"Showed up the same way that they did with your portal and all. You here to finish the job?" the large man asked.

"Finish the job? It looks like they razed the planet and got what they came for." Michael said as he looked over the landscape.

Suddenly, as they drove into the ruins of a city, a man on a motorcycle drove up beside the jeep and revved his engines. The man who was driving lowered his window.

"Frank! Josie! Daily quake in 20 minutes!" the man on the cycle shouted.

"Now? But we've got Magg spies and the closest jail is a half hour away." the man in the driver's seat, Frank shouted.

"Better find some shelter, you don't want to be here if something comes down." the man on the cycle shouted as he veered off and drove away.

"Damn!" the woman, Josie, shouted before poking her head into the back of the jeep. "Gordon, what should we do?"

"There's an intact building a few blocks down Blue Jay Way. Make the next left. If we can bide our time there, we should be good." the large man, Gordon, said.

"Daily earthquake? What are you talking about?" Michael asked.

"When the Mags left, or rather, when they disappeared, everything started going crazy. Daily earthquakes in California, flooding on the Eastern seaboard every two weeks on the dot." Josie said.

"When did this all start?" Sam asked.

"About six months ago, right Frank?" Josie replied.

"Yeah. A week or so after the Mags dropped off." Frank said.

"Uh oh..." Rebecca muttered.

"Here we are. Pull in here." Gordon said, ignoring her.

The jeep pulled into a parking lot, covered with rubble, near a metal dome.

"That it?" Frank asked.

"Yeah, let's get in there before it starts." Josie said. "Bring the spies, too."

"We're not spies. We're explorers!" Sam retorted.

"Shut up and move." Frank shouted.

The trio was led into the dome, which was devoid of anything on the inside, save for a door. The group sat, as the trio were tied up with Gordon sitting there aiming his gun at them the whole time. Michael was leaning against the wall, staring sadly into space. Frank and Josie were looking over the timer as the room rumbled as the quake raged outside.

"This call the Manta ships?" Josie asked as she held the timer as if it were a plague rat.

"It doesn't do any sort of calling any more. It used to be a cell phone, though." Rebecca said.

"What does it do?" Frank asked, sharply.

"Well, I can't explain the entire theory, but long story short, it allows us to travel to parallel universes. We are not of your Earth." Sam said.

"Neither were the Mags." Gordon said.

"Funny that you mention them. We actually spent a good portion of the last two years fighting them. We actually might be responsible for all these natural disasters, cause we're the reason the Mags disappeared." Rebecca said.

"What do you mean?" Josie asked.

"Well, we, and our allies, created a device to remove all the Kromaggs from every universe. And we did that around the time that your problems started." Rebecca replied.

"If you did that, why are you here?" Frank asked.

"Well, we sort of lost our ability to get home, so we're traveling randomly, following our mission." Sam said.

"Which is?" Gordon asked.

"To explore strange new worlds, to seek out new life and new civilizations and boldly go where no one has gone before." Sam replied.

"Don't give me that Star Trek crap." Frank snapped.

"What's wrong with your friend?" Josie asked.

"It's my fault..." Michael muttered.

"Oh, he gets like that when he feels responsible for bad things happening." Rebecca said. "Since what we did might be responsible for your daily earthquakes, he's all mopey. He got like that when we first got stranded from our worlds."

"How is it your fault?" Frank asked.

"We're not sure but we removed all the Kromaggs from every universe, the immediate removal of several million beings might have had adverse consequences." Rebecca replied.

"Earthquake's over. Let's move." Gordon said.

They were taken out of the dome once again and tossed back into the truck. Frank started driving, and they were on their way again.

"What exactly were the Kromaggs doing here, anyway?" Sam asked.

"Something involving a climatic manipulator. That's what they called it anyway." Josie replied.

"Wait, did you say climatic manipulator?" Michael asked, snapping out of his trance.

"Yeah. We can't read Mag, so we're not sure what it does." Gordon said.

"It's not my fault." Michael said. "Take us to it."

"Not so fast. We still don't trust you. What if you're here to finish what they started and everything's been a cover?" Josie asked.

"Trust me." Michael said. "The manipulator is what the cause of your problems is."

"It's offline. The power source was damaged during the escape and riots after the Mags split. If it doesn't work, how could it be causing quakes and hurricanes?" Frank asked.

"If you bring me to it, I could explain." Michael said.

Frank turned the truck onto another path and started driving towards the desert. Gordon turned around to face the front of the jeep.

"What are you doing?" Gordon asked.

"Going to the Kromagg's old base." Frank replied.

"You believe their story?" Josie whispered.

"Listen, they obviously have something to do with the Mags. We're capable of taking them down if they go rogue, but if they can stop the quakes and tornadoes, it's worth a shot." Frank replied.

The jeep arrived in front of a blown out building. The remains of Kromagg tech, including the wing of a manta ship lay on the ground. The trio were let out of the jeep as Michael spied Josie putting the timer into her pocket.

"So, where's the manipulator?" Michael asked.

"Inside." Frank said. "Gordon, keep an eye on them I'm gonna scope it out with Josie."

Frank and Josie walked into the rubble of the building and Gordon eyed the trio uneasily, as they huddled together.

"Are you going to explain to us how you know about this thing?" Rebecca asked.

"Back when we were on James' world, he had a cache of Kromagg data. One of the data packs mentioned a device they were using to manipulate worlds to their needs. Why destroy a planet with a weapon, when you can make it destroy itself?" Michael replied.

"That's horrible!" Sam exclaimed.

"It is, but the good thing is, I can stop it, provided we can get it working again." Michael said.

"How long did the timer say we had when we got here?" Rebecca asked.

"I didn't get to look at it before we were taken hostage." Michael replied. "Maybe we can ask the woman."

Frank and Josie started walking back towards the trio. Gordon led the trio closer to Frank and Josie.

"Coast's clear of scavengers. We can go in. You think you can fix it?" Frank asked.

"Yes. But I do need to ask one favor. Can you read off the numbers on our device?" Michael replied.

"What does the number mean?" Josie asked.

"It's how much time we have to save your world." Michael replied. "If it hits zero, your world is doomed."

Sam and Rebecca nodded their heads affirmatively as Josie looked at Frank. He nodded and Josie looked at the timer.

"Uh, first two numbers are zero. Second number is zero, five. Third number is forty five..." Josie started.

"About six hours." Michael said. "Let's get to work."

Michael moved pieces of metal off of a control panel and brushed the dust away. Gordon stood by the door with a gun as Sam and Rebecca looked around the room, followed by Frank and Josie.

"This is the main control panel. I think this part is what manipulates the environment to cause the disasters. That other panel must be the power source." Michael said.

"How do you know?" Frank asked.

"Well, this panel has the word manipulator on it, so I just assumed." Michael replied.

"You read Mag?" Gordon asked.

"You spend a lot of time in the same Kromagg prison cell, you start to learn the words written on the wall." Michael replied.

"You were in one of the Mag jails?" Frank asked.

"Yep." Sam said. "We were sort of Public Enemy Number Two to the Kromaggs."

"Really?" Josie asked, incredulously.

"Well, sort of. The Kromaggs had a grudge against a friend of ours, so we were dragged into it by matter of association." Rebecca replied.

"Can we get a generator plugged into this thing?" Michael asked as he pulled a wire out of the rubble near the power source.

"We've got a car battery in the back of the truck." Josie said.

"That'll do." Michael said.

Frank walked off towards the truck and Michael kept pulling wires from the panels. Sam and Rebecca looked over the device, as Josie and Gordon watched them intently.

"Okay, so basically, this is what happened. The Kromaggs were developing a new type of weapon. They like destroying worlds and razing them for resources." Michael pointed to the panel. "This is a climatic manipulator, though it does more than manipulate climate. It's designed to cause natural disasters. Like earthquakes."

"That part we get. Why is it still making them if the machine is turned off?" Josie asked.

"Presumably, they used it once, and then when they left, no one reversed it, so when the machine was damaged, the disasters were still happening, since the environment hadn't been reverted to how it was before the machine was built." Michael replied.

"So the disasters will keep happening until the world is either destroyed, or the machine is repaired and someone reverses the damage." Rebecca said.

"Precisely!" Michael exclaimed.

It was then that Frank returned, carrying a car battery. He set it down by Michael, who took wires out of the panel and started attaching them to the car battery. The machine began to spring to life, and the control panel lit up as buttons began to flash.

"Fantastic. Now to figure out how to use it." Michael said.

"You don't know how?" Frank asked.

"Hey, I said I knew what it was, I didn't say I knew how to operate it. Can't be that hard though." Michael replied.

"Allow me." Rebecca said. "James taught me a thing or two when I was stuck on his world."

Rebecca pressed a few buttons. At first, it seemed like nothing was happening, then the machine began to respond. A list appeared on the screen, listing various natural disasters, like earthquakes, floods, and hurricanes, with frequencies next to it. A beeping sound started, and Gordon checked his pocket, looking at a small device.

"Three minutes to the weekly lightning storm." Gordon asked.

"Okay, so turn all the frequencies to zero." Sam said. "Then we can get out of here."

"That's what I'm doing." Rebecca said. "Michael, give me a hand."

"Got it." Michael said.

The list began to get smaller, until the entire list was blank, all frequencies at zero. Gordon checked his watch and began to look around.

"It's not raining." Gordon said.

"There's no lightning. Not even a cloud in the sky." Josie said.

"They did it." Frank said.

"We did it!" Sam exclaimed.

"Not quite. One more thing." Michael said as he disconnected the car battery and set it aside.

He picked up what appeared to be a piece of a metal pipe. He gripped it in his hands, before slamming the pipe into the machine.

"What are you doing?" Frank asked as he ran up to Michael and grabbed his arm.

"Stopping this from being used ever again. Unless you want more earthquakes." Michael replied.

"Anyway, give us our timer and you can go on your way. We'll find our own way out." Rebecca said, going to take the timer from Josie, who pulled it back.

"What are you doing?" Sam asked.

"Not so fast." Gordon said. "There's a lot of unchecked Mag technology. If this happens again, we'll need someone to fix it."

"Hold on, we need our timer back. If it hits zero, something bad happens if we don't have it." Michael said.

"I guess we'll have to see what that something is." Frank said.

"I really didn't want to have to do this." Michael said. As he said it, he ran into Frank, pushing him backwards, and making him fall over the car battery.

Rebecca kicked Josie's leg out from underneath her and grabbed the timer from her as she fell. Sam knocked Gordon's gun out of his hands. Rebecca ran towards the front of the facility, as Sam and Michael followed behind as Gordon fumbled on the floor for his gun. They made it outside.

"How much time?" Sam asked.

"Thirty seconds." Rebecca replied.

"Why does everyone we meet try to betray us?" Michael asked.

"Let's get out of here!" Sam shouted as Frank, Josie and Gordon, with their guns drawn.

They rushed down a hill and Rebecca activated the timer, and the vortex opened. Rebecca passed the timer to Michael and rushed in, followed by Sam. Michael turned around and saw Gordon, Frank and Josie approaching, he hopped into the portal. Gordon, Frank and Josie got to the bottom of the hill as the vortex closed. They tossed down their guns in defeat and started walking away.

On another Earth, the vortex opened and the trio fell out of the portal, landing on the ground. They brushed themselves off.

"Please let this be a normal world." Michael said as he looked at the timer.

"Uh, Michael... I don't think this is a normal world." Sam said.

Michael turned around to see another vortex open behind them. They ducked out of the way as three figures emerged from the vortex, two men and a woman, all roughly thirty years older the trio. One of the men stood up and looked around, noticing the trio. He turned to his companions, and then back to the trio. He adjusted his glasses, before smiling.

"Oh my god." Rebecca said.

"This is..." the man started.

"Incredible!" Michael exclaimed.

 _ **To Be Continued...**_


	3. Chapter 2

Chapter 2:

The vortex opened and the trio fell out of the portal, landing on the ground. They brushed themselves off.

"Please let this be a normal world." Michael said as he looked at the timer.

"Uh, Michael... I don't think this is a normal world." Sam said.

Michael turned around to see another vortex open behind them. They ducked out of the way as three figures emerged from the vortex, two men and a woman, all roughly thirty years older the trio. One of the men, who had graying medium length brown hair, stood up and looked around, noticing the trio. He turned to his companions, and then back to the trio. He adjusted his glasses, before smiling.

"Oh my god." Rebecca said.

"This is..." the man started.

"Incredible!" Michael exclaimed.

"So much for normal..." Sam muttered.

"Are you..." Rebecca asked.

"I think you already know the answer to that." the older woman said.

"How is this even possible?" the older man, without glasses asked.

"It's pretty simple. We've landed on a world that's thirty years behind our own." the older man with glasses said.

"Or we landed on a world that's thirty years ahead of ours." Michael said.

"Equally valid." the older man with glasses said. "I'm Michael Josephson, though I suspect you know that."

"Naturally." Michael said.

"I have so many questions." Sam said.

"Save them. We haven't eaten in two worlds and my legs aren't as spry as they used to be, I need to sit down." the older Sam said.

"I like the way you think." Sam laughed.

The two trios sat opposite each other at a table at a diner. The two Sams were busy scarfing down burgers as the Michaels and Rebeccas were conversing.

"So, I can't imagine that you're actually us from the future, so where does your world converge from ours?" Rebecca asked.

"Not sure." the older Michael replied. "It could be a very minute change."

"Have you been sliding for thirty years?" Michael asked.

"That's a... long story." the older Rebecca said.

"We've only been sliding for about two years or so." the older Michael said.

"We spent thirty years trapped on a world when the timer timed out while those two were arguing." the older Sam said.

"What?" Sam asked. "Thirty years?"

"Yeah." the older Michael said, embarrassed. "It was a stupid argument."

"Wait, so thirty years... You never fought the Kromaggs?" Rebecca asked.

"Kro-whattas?" the older Sam asked.

"What about Quinn, did you ever meet Quinn?" Michael asked.

"Our Quinn, no. We did meet doubles of him, though." the older Rebecca replied.

"Did you ever get married?" Rebecca asked.

"I did." the older Michael replied

"Despite our objections." the older Rebecca said.

"So, you two aren't..." Sam started.

"What? Us? Of course not!" the older Michael exclaimed.

"We'd never!" the older Rebecca agreed.

"I guess we are pretty different." Michael laughed.

"You've gotta be kidding me." the older Michael said. "You and... me and..."

"I always said you two would end up together." the older Sam smirked.

"What about your adventures? I see you weren't any more fortunate with finding your homes." the older Rebecca said.

"We did... we just always manage to get lost again." Rebecca said.

"How long do you guys have left on this world." Sam asked.

"Let's see." the older Michael pulled out the timer, nearly identical to their own, but worn, with several scratches on the casing. "A little over twelve hours, give or take."

"We've got about the same." Michael said.

"What should we do?" the older Michael asked.

Suddenly, two black suited individuals barged into the room. They locked their gazes on the table that the group was sitting at. The individuals grabbed Sam's shoulder. Michael slid his timer across the table, and it was pocketed by the older Sam. The individuals also grabbed Michael and Rebecca.

"Hey, what's the big idea?" the older Michael asked.

"This is none of your concern... unless you are associated with these three." one of the individuals, a woman stated. The older trio stepped back.

"Then maybe you can explain to us why you want to detain us." Rebecca said.

"You know what you did." the other individual, a man said.

"You government agent types always say that, and we never know what we did." Sam said.

"Shut up." the woman said as she dragged Sam out of the restaurant. The other agent dragged Michael and Rebecca out as their older counterparts watched.

The older sliders ran out of the restaurant and watched as a black van pulled away. They looked at each other.

"I remember when we used to get into trouble like that." the older Sam mused.

"We've got to help them. We've saved them from awkward explanations of the timer but they'll still need it in twelve hours." the older Rebecca said.

"Just like old times, eh?" the older Michael adjusted his glasses. The other two nodded and they started walking the direction the van sped off into.

The younger trio sat in a holding cell, waiting around. An older man in a military uniform that identified him as a General walked up to the cell.

"Well, well, well." the General said. "We finally found the traitors. I fought in the war, you know."

"Us, traitors?" Sam asked. "We're not traitors!"

"Whoever you think we are, we aren't. We might look like them, but we're not." Michael said.

"You haven't changed at all. Still cracking wise..." the General said. "We saw your ID's when we confiscated your wallets."

"Let's say for a second that we have no idea why we're here. What exactly did we do?" Rebecca asked.

Another person in a military uniform identifying him as a Lieutenant, ran up to the General and pulled him aside. The trio listened to their conversation.

"General Raleigh, there's something you need to see." the Lieutenant said. The General nodded.

"I'll be back." Gen. Raleigh said as he walked away with the Lieutenant.

The older trio sat in a library and looked over their individual computers, scanning the pages.

"Looks like our doubles... their doubles, were protesters. Of the... Korean War?" the older Sam questioned. "Guess that's still going on here."

"The place doesn't look like it. Most of the worlds we land on with ongoing conflicts are dark reflections of our own." the older Rebecca said.

"I guess looks can be deceiving." the older Michael said.

"It's the Second Korean War. Apparently on this world, the U.S. and Korea got into another conflict a few years ago. On this world, Korea is a united nation, and didn't have nuclear weapons, though the U.S. thought they did and launched an attack on them, which our... their doubles protested against." the older Sam said.

"That doesn't explain why they were arrested." the older Rebecca said.

"The apparently fled to Canada or something, because the government treated some of their actions while protesting as treason, and then a few attacks on some of the major army brass who organized the attack on Korea have occurred recently, and take a guess who the prime suspects were." the older Sam continued.

"So... how do we save them?" the older Michael asked.

General Raleigh sat with the Lieutenant at a computer. He scratched his head and the Lieutenant showed him items on the computer.

"How the hell is this possible?" Gen. Raleigh asked.

"I don't know sir, but they seem to be concurrently in that cell, and in separate places in Canada." the Lieutenant replied.

"Have the Canadian government get their alibis together." Gen. Raleigh said.

"Aye, sir." the Lieutenant excused himself.

General Raleigh moved in front of the computer and started to tap at the keys. He smiled as he finished typing, and stood up and walked away.

Michael, Sam and Rebecca sat in their cell. They talked amongst themselves until they were distracted by someone opening the cell door. They turned around to see a familiar face.

"Maggie!" the trio exclaimed, before realizing it was not the Maggie Beckett that they knew.

"I'm taking a huge risk doing this. Come on." Maggie said, and she led them out of the cell and down a corridor.

"What's going on?" Rebecca asked.

"I know you three didn't do it. But my father was one of the top brass killed, and so I want your help in finding the bastard who did." Maggie replied.

"What are you talking about?" Sam asked.

"The terrorist attacks! You don't have to feign ignorance with me, I know you're innocent." Maggie replied.

"Terrorist attacks..." Michael muttered.

Suddenly they were stopped when three figures turned the corner. It was their older doubles, and Sam's double held a gun up and aimed it at Maggie.

"Put the gun down, lady!" Michael's double shouted. Maggie turned to the younger trio.

"That's right, you guys never met Quinn..." Rebecca said.

"Who's Quinn?" Maggie asked.

"Calm down! She's on our side!" Sam shouted. Michael's double lowered his gun.

"What are you guys doing here?" Michael asked.

"Breaking you out!" the older Rebecca replied. "Though I guess you already have that covered."

"Long story." Sam said. "We should get going."

"Who are these guys?" Maggie asked.

"That's an even longer story. Let's go." Rebecca replied.

They started to run down the corridor, as Maggie used her ID card to get them through sealed doors. They got to an elevator and Maggie ushered the entire group inside. It began to descend.

"Okay, so explain what's going on." the older Michael said.

"Guys, this is Captain Maggie Beckett of the U.S. Air Force." Sam said.

"Major." Maggie said.

"Right." Sam said.

"And those three are..." Maggie started.

"That's complicated... They're sort of us. But older." Michael said.

"What?" Maggie asked.

The elevator stopped and the doors opened, revealing General Raleigh, and several armed soldiers behind him.

"Major Beckett..." General Raleigh started. "I figured you were a part of this. What would your father think?"

"My father would be happy that I'm finding his real killer. And it's not these three." Maggie said.

"Well, if you have another suspect, I'm all ears." General Raleigh said. Maggie remained silent. "That's what I thought. Take them all to a holding cell."

"You bastard!" Maggie spat. General Raleigh just scowled as the group was dragged away.

The group sat in their cell, when General Raleigh walked up to the cell door. He smiled at them.

"I finally have you right where I want you." General Raleigh said. "I don't know who you three are, but since you're interfering with a matter of national security, that makes you traitors."

"Listen, if you could just let us explain ourselves." the older Sam said.

"The time for talk is over." Maggie said. "You had something to do with my father's death."

"The loss of General Beckett in that terrorist attack was unfortunate. And I am here to bring the culprits to justice." General Raleigh said.

"I think you already know who the culprit is." Maggie said.

"Your trial is in a week." General Raleigh said. "We will want to talk to you about your cell phones, though. They seem... interesting."

"They're just phones." Michael said.

"Whatever you say." General Raleigh walked away.

The three older sliders turned to their younger counterparts.

"We need a plan." the older Michael said.

"What type of plan?" Sam asked.

"An escape plan. We need the timers back and we probably don't have a lot of time left to do it." the older Rebecca replied.

"Okay, what is going on?" Maggie asked.

"Tell me Major Beckett, do you have an open mind?" the older Sam asked.

General Raleigh down a corridor when the Lieutenant walked up to him. He looked nervous.

"What's wrong Lieutenant?" General Raleigh asked.

"It's... well, you see..." he started.

"Spit it out, Lieutenant." General Raleigh barked.

"The prisoners, sir. The new ones... their fingerprints match the suspects. I'm willing to bet a DNA test would come up identical as well." the Lieutenant said.

"What does this mean?" General Raleigh asked.

"I'm not sure. But this means that they might not be the suspects after all. If whoever they are got cosmetic surgery and altered their fingerprints, we'd have no way of knowing which of them committed the attacks." the Lieutenant said.

"Then we send them all to Guantanamo!" General Raleigh shouted. "What did you find out about the phones?"

"They're counting down... to something. But we don't know what. We couldn't take them apart, for fear of detonating something, but it doesn't have any of the hallmarks of any detonation device I've ever seen." the Lieutenant said. "We may need them to tell us what they are."

The sliders finished their story as Maggie stared at them all in disbelief.

"So you expect me to believe that you're both from parallel universes. And that these three are your counterparts from a universe set thirty years in the future." Maggie said.

"That's pretty much it, yeah." the older Michael said.

"And you need to get your cell phones or else you'll be trapped here for thirty years." Maggie said.

"And we need your help. How can we escape this?" Sam asked.

"We can try faking sickness or something, but..." Maggie started to reply as a guard approached the door to the cell.

"Major Maggie Allison Beckett, the General wants to speak with you." the guard said.

"I have nothing to say to him." Maggie said.

"He insists." the guard said, un-holstering his gun. "He said to use any means necessary."

"Fine." Maggie said as she walked to the door to the cell.

The guard opened the door and Maggie followed him out, leaving the sliders alone. She walked into General Raleigh's office and he motioned for her to sit down.

"Not gonna cuff me?" she asked.

"No reason to. I have a proposal to make." General Raleigh said.

"I'm not talking until I find out who killed my father." she said.

"Listen to me, Major. Those three committed the attacks, and those cell phones they have are counting down to something. It could be another attack. But I can tell they won't talk to us. But you... they seem to trust. You did try to help them after all." General Raleigh said. "If you help us, and get them to talk, I'll make this go away and you can go back to the Air Force."

Maggie sat there for a moment, pondering her decision. As she sat, there was a knock on the door and the Lieutenant entered.

"Sir. There's a situation in the cell. One of the older prisoners is complaining of chest pains." the Lieutenant said.

"He's probably faking it, sir." Maggie said.

"I have no doubt about it, but I want to hear his story." General Raleigh said. "I'll be right back. Stay in your seat, Major. Lieutenant, watch her."

"Aye, sir." the Lieutenant said as Raleigh walked away and he stationed himself in front of the door.

Maggie sat there and smiled at the Lieutenant. Suddenly there was a crash in the hallway and the Lieutenant turned to the door.

"Don't move." he said.

"No problem." Maggie said.

The Lieutenant ran out and Maggie got up and ran to General Raleigh's computer on the other side of the desk. She input a password and started to analyze the data popping up on the screen.

"I knew it..." Maggie muttered. She tapped a few keys and smiled as she sat back down in her chair.

General Raleigh walked up to the cell, where the older Sam was lying on the ground with everyone around him.

"I know you're faking. This isn't the first time we've had someone of your age in that cell. I know the tricks." General Raleigh scowled.

"You still came, didn't you?" the older Sam asked.

"Only so I could see for myself." General Raleigh replied.

The sound of a gun being cocked reverberated in the room and Raleigh turned around to see a pistol aimed at his face, being held by Maggie.

"A sudden, but inevitable betrayal..." General Raleigh said. He pulled out his radio. "Guards!"

"They won't be coming. I just sent out the data that showed that you were responsible for the terrorist attack in order to implicate those three so you could have the war with Korea that you so desperately want." Maggie said. "Any minute now you're going to be arrested for treason, and for murdering four men, including my father."

"You think you've won, but when Korea attacks, you'll need me." General Raleigh said.

"Save it." Maggie said.

A black van pulled up in front of the diner where the sliders had been taken from. All six sliders exited the van, followed by Maggie.

"Thanks, Maggie." Michael said.

"Don't mention it. You're like your counterparts here, good honest people." Maggie said.

"And thanks for getting the army to forget about our timers. It complicates things when we have to steal them back." the older Rebecca said.

"Good luck on your journeys, all of you." Maggie said as she climbed back into the van.

The van drove off and the sliders checked their timers. They looked at each other knowingly.

"It was nice to meet me." Michael said. "And nice to see that I don't lose my hair."

"Same here." Sam said.

"It was also nice to see that not all our doubles made the same mistake." the older Michael said.

"I hope you guys get home soon." Rebecca said.

"Thanks, though with all the close calls we've had with our timer lately, we might have to wait another thirty years to get there." the older Rebecca said.

"I hate long goodbyes, and so does the timer apparently. We've got to get going." the older Sam said, taking the timer out of his pocket.

"Let's get out of here before they arrest us again." the older Michael said as Sam opened their portal.

"Seeya!" Sam said as the older trio hopped into their portal, which closed behind them.

"We've gotta go too." Michael said, looking at their timer. He opened a portal and the trio hopped into their portal, which also closed behind them.

 _ **To Be Continued...**_


	4. Chapter 3

Chapter 3:

The trio walked down a bustling street as people rushed around, shopping and being merry.

"Wow. Is it Christmas already? Have we really been sliding for that long?" Michael asked.

"It's our first Christmas since we stopped the Kromaggs. We've got a lot to celebrate about this year, huh?" Rebecca replied.

"Yeah. I miss my family though." Sam said.

"Me too." Rebecca said. "After what we did last time we were there, I can't imagine they're getting along well."

"My parents had me back and now I'm gone again. I can't even imagine what they're going through." Michael said.

They started to walk into a store and Michael paused under the doorway. He pointed above Rebecca's head.

"Hey, Rebecca. You know what you have to do when you walk under mistletoe." Michael grinned.

"I do, but that's holly. Nice try, though." Rebecca said, as she walked past him.

"Well, when New Year's Eve rolls around, if we don't have to slide, do I get a kiss?" Michael asked.

"We'll see." Rebecca giggled.

Sam sighed as he watched the other two sliders joke around as they walked around the store. They walked into a store and Sam tapped Michael on the shoulder.

"I'm going to go for a walk. I'll meet you guys back at the hotel." Sam said.

"Okay." Michael said, quickly returning his attention to his conversation with Rebecca.

Sam strolled through Golden Gate Park, sitting down on a bench and putting his face in his hands.

"They don't even need me. I'm just dead weight. Maybe they'd have been better off if I never started sliding." Sam said.

"Do you really think that, Samuel?" a voice asked. Sam looked up to see that a short old man was now sitting next to him. He hadn't heard the old man sit down.

"Oh, uh, I was just thinking out loud." Sam said.

"Come on, Sam. You don't need to hide it from me. I know you're a slider." the old man said.

"Who are you?" Sam asked, starting to stand up.

"Just a friend, an observer if you'd like. I heard your problem." the old man said. "You feel like a third wheel."

"Yeah. Ever since they finally realized that they liked each other, they've been ignoring me. I mean, ever since we met our older doubles and they saw the version of themselves that never got together... Besides, they always solve the problems!"

"And?"

"And what have I contributed? It's like I do nothing. Michael was the one that helped Quinn stop the Kromaggs. Rebecca's gotten us out of a bunch of scrapes. I'm just along for the ride. I guess I feel like I'm unnecessary." Sam said.

"Did you mean it?"

"My wish that I never slid? Sort of. What have I done out here that's really made a difference?"

"Would you like to see?"

"Huh?"

The old man produced a small device from his pocket. It was vaguely timer shaped, and he aimed it in front of the bench. It activated and a portal appeared in front of them.

"What's this?" Sam asked.

"It's a portal back to Earth Prime. If you never slid that is. It'll be like you never left." the old man replied.

"I'm not sure about this. I mean, if this goes home I have to tell Michael and Rebecca." Sam said, starting to walk away.

"It's just for you. And I can't sustain it for that long, so you only have one shot." the old man said. "Is this what you really want?"

Sam hesitated for a moment, then thought to Michael and Rebecca back at the mall.

"They'll get along without me." Sam said, and he stepped through the portal.

He emerged onto the campus of Cal-U. Before he had a chance to examine his surroundings, there was an explosion and he ducked for cover. He looked around to see a ravaged landscape, one that was vaguely familiar to him.

"Sam, get over here!" a voice shouted.

Sam looked up, it was Rebecca, the Earth Prime version of Rebecca. He ran over to her and they ducked underneath a downed Manta ship.

"What are you doing out of the base? We can't afford to lose anyone else!" she shouted.

"What's going on?" Sam asked.

"What do you think is going on? The invasion!" Rebecca's double shouted.

They rushed into a building and shut the door behind them. Rebecca's double ran down a corridor and Sam followed.

"Okay, why are the Kromaggs attacking? Didn't Quinn stop them?" Sam asked.

"Quinn? Quinn Mallory? The Mags executed him six months ago. What's wrong with you?" Rebecca's double replied.

"I'm not sure. But this isn't what was supposed to have happened. We stopped the Mags. Me, Michael, and Rebecca. Well, the other Rebecca." Sam said.

"Michael? The guy who went missing right before this all started?"

"Yeah... I've gotta go." Sam said.

"Wait! You'll be killed!" Rebecca's double shouted, but Sam was already out the door.

Sam ran through the campus, seeing Manta ships fly through the air, and Kromagg soldiers running rampant. Sam stopped when he saw a familiar figure wearing all black.

"James!" Sam shouted. The man didn't respond. "Hey you!"

James turned around and looked at Sam unfamiliarly.

"I don't believe we've met." James said.

"James, it's me. Sam. Sam Evans. Oh, that's right, I never slid. What's going on here?" Sam asked.

"You don't know? Oh, this is going to be fun." James said.

"What do you mean?" Sam asked. "You said that they tricked you into helping them! Why are you letting this destruction happen?"

It was the last thing he thought before James reached into his pocket and pulled out a small device that he aimed at Sam. The device shot out an electric blast. Sam's vision faded as he fell to the ground in front of James.

He awoke in an interrogation room. He was slumped over a table. He sat up to find he was chained to the chair. The door to the room opened, and a large Kromagg walked in. A large Kromagg that Sam immediately recognized.

"Tiberius!" Sam said.

"I see you've heard of me. That was pretty stupid of you, getting yourself caught like that." Tiberius said.

"So what happens now? I get sent to work camp or something?" Sam asked.

"My, my, you seem to know a lot about our procedures. But yes, that is likely what will happen." Tiberius replied.

"Then answer a few questions for me. How did you do this? Find Earth Prime and kill Quinn and all that." Sam asked.

"Well, it was pretty simple. Quinn's group eventually ended up on a world we could track and the Empress managed to get their home coordinates from their unique dimensional signature. After dissecting one of them... Rembrandt, I think it was." Tiberius replied. "That was a good day."

"What about Michael and Rebecca? And why is James still working for you?" Sam asked.

"Michael and Rebecca... oh, you mean that student who went missing from your world and the girl. I do remember them. The fact that the boy managed to resist the brainwashing in the simulation was quite impressive." Tiberius replied.

"How did you catch them? Didn't Michael manage to overpower James?"

"James?"

"Your agent, Michael's double. When he checked in, Michael beat the mind wipe and managed to overpower him!"

"That's right. How do you know all this?"

"That's not important. You captured them after that, didn't they escape?"

"Oh, they tried to. They didn't get very far. They were arguing so much that they hadn't made it farther than the corridor before we caught up with them. They've been on one of the Empress' private prison worlds ever since."

"And what about James? Your agent, he told us that you tricked him into helping, since you promised no one would get hurt, but why is he going along with it now?"

"Well, after he was overpowered, I planned on letting him rot in a cell until his world was destroyed but... I figured he was still of use to me, so I reprogrammed him."

"You brainwashed him!"

"That is an apt comparison."

"This can't be happening. I couldn't have made that big a difference. I was the one that kept them together? I was wrong... I was wrong old man! I take it all back!"

"What are you blathering about?"

"Nothing."

"Anyway, you'll be put in a cell and processed. After that you can be assigned to a work camp."

Sam was dragged to a cell, leaning on one of the guards for support before the guard shook him off and tossed him inside. Sam slumped down and sat. The guard walked away sneering.

"I guess this is it..." Sam sighed. "Or is it?"

Sam opened his hand to reveal a key card, which he waved into the force-field, which lowered.

"Guess they didn't learn their lesson in this timeline." Sam chuckled. "Here's hoping that Tiberius is using the same outpost world..."

Sam rushed down a corridor, passing several cells. Sam looks around at signs and turned down another corridor. He stopped inside a room filled with several computers and devices scattered on top of tables. Sam scanned a table and picked up a Kromagg timer.

"I'm going to need help for this." Sam said.

He ran to a computer and input various parameters until he came upon the coordinates he was looking for.

"Here goes nothing." Sam said as a Kromagg alarm began to blare. He entered the coordinates and activated the timer.

Several Kromaggs stormed into the room. Sam smirked and hopped into the portal, which closed behind him. Sam emerged from the portal in another Kromagg corridor. He looked around and ran down a corridor, stopping in front of a force-field and put his card into it. The field lowered. Sam stepped inside.

"Hey. I need your help." Sam said.

"Sam? Oh am I glad to see you!" a voice shouted. A figure emerged from the shadows, Michael, who was ragged, wearing torn clothes.

"It's probably just another Kromagg mind trick." another voice said. Another figure stepped forward, revealing Rebecca.

"No, the Mags wouldn't know about him. This is Sam, my best friend from my Earth." Michael said. "We were going to slide together but..."

"Yeah. Listen, we've got to get out of here." Sam said. "This is wrong. But we can fix it."

"What do you mean?" Michael asked.

"I'll explain later." Sam said. "We have to go."

"I don't believe him." Rebecca said.

"Rebecca listen. If you ever want to see your family and friends again, I'm your only chance." Sam said. "Hey, that's right. I am the reason you made it back, if this is what happened without me..."

"What are you talking about?" Michael asked.

"Never mind." Sam said, taking his timer out. He looked at the countdown. "Okay, we've got to wait a little bit, so we should get out of here. Mags will be following me here any minute. Let's go."

The trio ran out of the cell and down a corridor. An alarm started to blare and Sam cursed under his breath. Kromagg guards surrounded them.

"I told you it was a trick!" Rebecca shouted.

"Just shut up! If you hadn't stopped our first escape this wouldn't have happened!" Michael shouted.

"Both of you, shut up! And run!" Sam shouted as he kicked one of the guards and grabbed his gun. "Hey, didn't know I could do that."

Sam blasted the Kromagg with the gun and started blasting the other ones. Michael and Rebecca followed him as they made their way down the corridor. Sam stopped when he saw Tiberius at the end of the corridor. He tried to fire the weapon, but it refused to fire.

"I should have figured you'd have pulled something like this." Tiberius said. "I'll enjoy doing this."

"This way!" Sam turned around and started to run back down the corridor. The other two started to follow them. Tiberius came around the corner and Michael stopped.

"Go without me! I'll hold him off!" Michael shouted.

"No!" Sam shouted, as Tiberius fired his weapon. Michael crumpled to the ground.

Sam started to fumble with the Kromagg timer as Rebecca looked at Michael's body lying on the ground.

"I've almost got it. I just need to activate it before the window and they can't track us." Sam shouted. "I've got it!"

Sam activated the portal and looked back long enough to see Tiberius fire his weapon again. Rebecca attempted to jump into the portal, but the shot hit her and she dropped to the floor.

"NO!" Sam shouted in anguish. Tiberius continued walking. "You bastard!"

Sam jumped into the portal, which closed behind him and emerged on the other side in a pile of snow. Sam started sobbing.

"I was wrong... I WAS WRONG YOU HEAR THAT, OLD MAN? I was wrong!" Sam cried. "I take it back!"

"Sam, are you okay?" a voice asked.

"Of course I'm not okay, my best friends just..." Sam started before pausing. He looked up to see Michael and Rebecca standing over him.

"Guys! You're alive!" Sam shouted.

"Of course we're alive. Though with the way those holiday shoppers were acting I'm as shocked as you are that we made it out unscathed." Rebecca laughed. "We've been looking everywhere for you. It's like you weren't even on this Earth."

"You have no idea. I just had the strangest... dream? Hallucination? It felt so real!" Sam said.

"What are you talking about?" Michael asked.

"It doesn't matter. What matters is that you're okay." Sam said. "Thanks to me."

"What do you mean, thanks to you?" Michael asked.

"If I wasn't around you guys would never have stopped arguing enough to get anything done." Sam said.

"That's not true." Rebecca said. "We're capable of being rational adults without you around."

Sam started to respond, but saw a short old man standing near a streetlight.

"I'll be right back..." Sam said, walking towards the old man.

Sam ran up to the streetlight.

"Hey, thanks for bringing me home." Sam said.

"Excuse me?" the old man asked.

"Don't do this, we both know that you helped me see my own worth by showing me an alternate world where I had never slid. There's no reason to do the fake not knowing what I'm talking about, only for you to knowingly wink at me as I walk away." Sam replied.

"You're very genre savvy." the old man said. "Samuel, do you understand your importance now?"

"I do. They'd never get along without me." Sam smiled.

"Then my work is done here." the old man said, and began to walk away.

"Hold on! Who are you, anyway?" Sam asked.

"Like I said. Just a friend." the old man said. "Merry Christmas."

"Merry Christmas." Sam said.

"Sam! Come on! We have to slide!" Michael shouted from across the way.

"Coming!" Sam shouted as he started to run towards his friends.

 _ **To Be Continued...**_


	5. Chapter 4

Chapter 4:

The trio sat in their hotel room at the Dominion Hotel relaxing and watching television. Michael muted the TV when it went to commercial.

"This show seems sort of familiar. I mean, three people chasing criminals through time... I feel like I've seen something similar to it before." Michael said.

"Yeah, I can't figure it out, though." Rebecca said.

Suddenly, a vortex appeared in the middle of the room. The trio got up from their seats and stood back. Michael stepped towards the door, motioning for Sam and Rebecca to do the same.

"What's going on?" Sam asked.

"I'm not sure!" Michael replied.

A figure leaped out of the portal, landing on the bed. The portal closed and the figure stood up, revealing herself to be a double of Rebecca, with shorter hair.

"Oh my god." Rebecca said.

"Michael, I need your help." the other Rebecca said.

"You must have him confused with someone else." Sam said.

Michael stepped forward and helped the other Rebecca down from the bed. Sam and Rebecca watched, confused. He looked at the timer she held in her hands.

"In every revolution, there is one man." Michael started.

"Or one woman, with a vision." the other Rebecca finished.

"What's going on?" Rebecca asked.

"I've met her before. Meet Rebecca, from the mirror universe." Michael replied. "Remember that day that you spent with the evil version of me? This is Rebecca's double from that universe."

"Oh yeah. You taught her how to operate the timer. How did that work out?" Sam asked.

"Not well." Mirror Rebecca said. "I did manage to get them to be subservient to me, since being stranded wasn't a pleasing concept, and eventually we managed to return to my world... but then they escaped. If they get back within The Empire's jurisdiction, they'll have my world razed and destroyed."

"And you need our help?" Rebecca asked.

"Yes." Mirror Rebecca said.

"How did you even find us?" Sam asked.

"A scientist on my world helped me find where you were based on when our vortexes converged that one time." Mirror Rebecca replied.

"Well, we're happy to help, but we can't control where our timer goes." Sam said.

"But we can track wormholes." Rebecca said.

"That's right! And if I get the photon trail of your timer, we can re-route our timer to that world!" Michael exclaimed.

"I knew you'd find a way. All you'll have to do is help me locate them so we can imprison them. So that they can't cause any more trouble." Mirror Rebecca said.

"Well, we won't slide for a few more hours, but when we do, we'll be sure to follow to your world." Michael said.

"Thank you." Mirror Rebecca said, looking at her timer. "I have to return now."

Mirror Rebecca pointed her timer at the center of the room and her portal appeared. She hopped through the portal which closed behind her.

"That was... weird." Sam said.

"I'm not sure. Something seems off." Rebecca said.

"Come on. I trust her. Just like I trust you." Michael said.

"If you trust her, then so do I." Sam said.

"I've got her trail, so now we just wait." Michael said.

Later, the trio emerged from a portal into a dark room. The trio stood up and tried to look around as the lights went up and Michael was hit over the head with a 2x4. He fell to the floor. Sam and Rebecca stepped back as they saw who had attacked Michael. It was his mirror double.

"What's going on?" Sam asked as his double stepped into the room and pointed a gun at him and Rebecca.

"Just borrowing this." Mirror Michael said as he picked up the timer off the floor next to Michael's hand.

"If you don't want the same treatment, I suggest you don't resist." Mirror Sam said.

Rebecca and Sam carried Michael as they were shoved into a windowless room. Sitting in the corner of the room was Mirror Rebecca. They placed Michael onto the floor and then turned to their cellmate.

"You betrayed us." Sam said.

"I knew something felt fishy." Rebecca said.

"It wasn't my idea. They forced me to do it." Mirror Rebecca said. "They got the timer back and... they said that they'd destroy my home coordinates if I didn't do what they said. They said that they'd wipe it from the timer. Without it..."

Michael began to stir. He sat up rubbing his head as he got his bearings.

"I feel like I got my brains smashed by a slice of lemon wrapped around a gold brick..." Michael said rubbing the back of his head. "Where are we?"

"We're in a prison cell, again. We got betrayed by your friend." Sam said.

"I told you, they made me. If they erase my home coordinates, I'll never get home." Mirror Rebecca said.

"That's not true. We've had our home coordinates erased and we still made it back. Of course we still haven't seen if second time's the charm." Sam said.

"I'm not angry. I'm a little annoyed that I might have a concussion but I could tell something was up. If you had already made it back to your world, there would have been no way for them to return to the Empire. They didn't create their sliding tech, they stole it. As long as you had the timer, you'd have no danger. " Michael said. "But I wanted to help you, no matter the cost."

"You could have told us your plan." Sam said.

"I didn't want to make you guys paranoid in case I was wrong." Michael said.

"They have our timer." Rebecca said. "Why do they need it if they have their own?"

"Your timer is more advanced. You can track wormholes and set your own coordinates. Our timer can't. They want more control." Mirror Rebecca said.

"And I doubt that they can duplicate it, so they'll probably strip our timer for parts." Michael said. "How long did you have control over the timer?"

"A few months... eventually I let my guard down and..." Mirror Rebecca started.

"Yeah. Your timer never cycled back to your home coordinates, right?" Michael asked.

"No." Mirror Rebecca said. "And now it might never..."

"Don't worry, we'll get your timer and our timer back." Michael said. "Right guys?"

"You trust her?" Rebecca asked.

"I met her Sam and you met her Michael, she's the most trustworthy of the three." Michael said.

"Fair enough." Sam said. "How do we get the timers?"

"I have an idea. We just have to wait..." Michael started.

Later, the door opened and Mirror Sam trained his gun on Mirror Rebecca. The others stepped back. He stepped into the room, followed by Mirror Michael.

"Ah, we meet at last." Mirror Michael sneered.

"A pleasure, I'm sure." Michael said. "What do you want?"

"Your timer is advanced. I can't manage to take it apart. I'd like you to do that." Mirror Michael said.

"Why would I help you?" Michael asked.

"If you don't, the girl dies." Mirror Michael replied.

Mirror Sam cocked his gun. Mirror Rebecca flinched. Her eyes pleaded with Michael. He turned to his Sam and Rebecca, then back to Mirror Michael.

"You've got a deal. Bring me to it. In fact, I'll do you one better. Get me proper components and I'll duplicate ours. Brand new parts that do the same thing." Michael said. "Deal?"

"Deal." Mirror Michael said.

Sam, Rebecca and Mirror Rebecca sat in their cell, with Mirror Sam standing near the door, holding his gun in one hand, and a handheld transceiver attached to his belt.

"So, how did you track us down, anyway?" Sam asked.

"I wasn't lying about the scientist helping to track you based on when our vortexes converged." Mirror Rebecca replied. "They threatened the scientist's life to get his help."

"We coerced him. It wasn't like we were gonna actually kill him." Mirror Sam chuckled.

Meanwhile, Michael sat at a table covered in components, and his timer sitting in front of him. He sighed as he failed to open it once again.

"Why can't you open it?" Mirror Michael asked.

"I don't know. This was refurbished by someone else. He must have sealed it with something." Michael replied.

"Figure it out!" Mirror Michael shouted.

Sam stood up and walked over to his double. He leaned in close and whispered into his ear.

"Hey, I need to take a leak." Sam said.

"There's a corner." Mirror Sam growled.

"Yeah, I'm not doing it with those two in the room. I don't need a bathroom, I just need another room." Sam said.

"Fine." Mirror Sam said as he opened the door and led Sam out at gunpoint.

The two Rebeccas sat in silence as they waited. A few minutes later, the door opened and Mirror Sam walked in, scowling. He adjusted the transceiver on his belt.

"The boss wants to see you two." he growled. He pointed his gun at them.

They quickly stood up and walked out of the room. Mirror Sam led them down a corridor until leading them to a door. He opened it, revealing that it's a door to outside. They look at him and he cracks a smile.

"Sam!" Rebecca grinned. "You swapped clothes with him!"

"Yep. And locked him in a broom closet." Sam said. "Get out of here, go to the Dominion and I'll get Michael and we'll meet up there later."

"Good luck." Mirror Rebecca said.

"Thanks." Sam said.

They ran as Sam closed the door and turned around. He stalked to the workshop, the gun in his hands. Mirror Michael stood at the door.

"What are you doing here? I told you to guard your double and the girls." Mirror Michael said.

"Well, they're no threat to us. I wanted to check on the status of the timer." Sam said.

"Fair enough. He's not making satisfactory progress. And our timer times out fairly soon." Mirror Michael said. "Perhaps you can... encourage him."

"Sure." Sam said.

Sam stepped inside the workshop. Michael turned around and glared at him, before turning back to the timer. Sam turned back to Mirror Michael and his eyes widened.

"Holy crap! They escaped!" he shouted.

Mirror Michael immediately turned around. Sam got a grip on the gun and whacked Mirror Michael in the back of the head, just like they had done to Michael earlier. Mirror Michael fell to the ground, unconscious. Michael pocketed both timers and stood up, smiling.

"Impressed?" Sam asked.

"Actually, I sort of am." Michael replied, leaning over and pulled the gun out of his double's pocket.

"Let's go." Sam said, tossing the transceiver onto the floor and rushing out of the room.

Sam, Rebecca and Mirror Rebecca sat around in the hotel room. Michael walked to the closet and opened the safe, placing the mirror timer inside of it. He closed it and set a combination.

"When is that set to go off?" Sam asked.

"Fifteen minutes." Michael replied.

"And ours?" Rebecca asked.

"A little over six hours." Michael replied.

"All we have to do is make sure it times out and they're stuck here." Mirror Rebecca said.

"And what about you?" Rebecca asked. "We can't enter our own coordinates. We can't get you home."

"As long as they're not around, and we have the coordinates, I'm happy." Mirror Rebecca said.

"Michael, can I talk with you privately?" Rebecca asked, guiding Michael into the hallway. They walked to the window at the end of the corridor.

"What do you need?" Michael asked.

"Do we trust her? I mean, she betrayed us. What's to say this isn't another trick?"

"That's like asking if I trust you. Of course I do."

"I don't like her."

"Well, maybe she'll grow on you. After all, Sam and I didn't like you at first either." Michael laughed.

"This is serious. I'm not risking the timer or you or Sam over misguided trust." Rebecca said.

"Trust me. She's on the level." Michael said. "She's you."

"She is not me. Just like James isn't you."

"Yeah, but if I was in his situation, and didn't know how bad the Kromaggs were, I probably would have done the same thing."

Suddenly they both heard a crash. They ran down the hallway to the room, where the door was ajar. They ran in to see Sam and Mirror Rebecca, unconscious on the floor, and Mirror Michael and Mirror Sam standing over the safe in the closet.

"I wonder what the passcode is..." Mirror Michael chuckled as he entered a code. The safe clicked and the door opened. "So predictable."

"Step away from that." Michael said.

"Or what?" Mirror Sam asked, raising his gun.

"Both of you, step into the bathroom." Mirror Michael said. Michael and Rebecca complied.

Mirror Michael took the timer out of the safe. He put it into his pocket. Rebecca attempted to step forward, but Mirror Sam readied his gun.

"Thank you for keeping it safe for us." Mirror Michael said.

"Don't try to follow us." Mirror Sam growled.

The two dark reflections walked out of the room. Michael and Rebecca ran over to their fallen friends.

"They're alive." Rebecca breathed a sigh of relief.

"Wake them up. I'm going after them." Michael said as he rushed out of the room.

He ran into the hotel lobby, and looked around, not seeing either of the doubles. He ran out of the front door to see a figure crossing the street. He followed and saw Mirror Michael and Mirror Sam duck into an alley. Michael ran to the alley, but when he got there all he saw a dark green portal close in front of the fence at the end of the alley. Michael's face dropped and he turned around.

Later, the quartet was standing in the same alley. Michael held the timer in his hands and fiddled with the controls on it.

"Okay, we've got their photon trail." Michael said. "We should be able to find them. It could take a while though, like when we were tracking Quinn and the gang."

"I was wondering when we'd have a new goal to achieve. Aimless sliding was getting a little boring." Sam laughed.

"Once we get their timer back we should be able to return here for you." Michael said, turning to Mirror Rebecca.

"No way. I'm coming with." Mirror Rebecca said.

Rebecca looked at Michael, concernedly. He opened his mouth to speak.

"If you come with us, you'll need a new name." Sam interjected.

"New name?" Mirror Rebecca asked.

"We traveled with one of Michael's doubles before." Rebecca started. "He adopted a new name for simplicity's sake."

"And because it would be weird to have two people named the same thing, since it would get confusing. If I call out "Look out, Rebecca!", by the time you two figure out who I'm talking about, you could both be dead." Sam added.

"My double used our middle name, James." Michael said.

"In that case, yours would be..." Rebecca started.

"Cassandra." Mirror Rebecca said. "I actually sort of like that."

"Your middle name is Cassandra?" Sam asked.

"You didn't know that?" Michael questioned.

"Whatever." Sam said. "Great to have you on the team, Cassie."

"Rebecca, you okay with this?" Michael whispered.

"I can deal." Rebecca said.

"And we're outta here." Michael said, aiming the timer at the fence. The blue portal opened in front of them.

"Are you ready?" Sam asked.

"Yeah." Cassandra said.

"Let's go." Michael said, hopping into the portal, followed by the other three.

 _ **To Be Continued...**_


	6. Chapter 5

Chapter 5:

Journal – Date: XX/XX/16

It's been a weird week. I mean, I say that, but really it's been weird since I got dragged into this sliding mess. I guess I should explain, my name is Rebecca Collins and I'm an inter-dimensional traveler. I was dragged into it by Michael and Sam, who showed up in my dorm room and whisked me away to a wild adventure of being shot at, captured and a lot of weirdness.

But for this installment of weirdness, this started with us being approached by my double from a mirror universe, and then she betrayed us to that universe's counterparts of Michael and Sam. They took the timer, and like always we got it back, but they got away with their timer and their Rebecca's home coordinates. We couldn't save them into our timer, so without them, she'll probably never get home, barring a miracle. So now we're chasing after them, and my double tagged along with us, though we're calling her Cassie. I don't trust her, but Michael does, so we have to give it a shot. For the first two slides, we kept arriving too late, but Michael thought our luck is about to turn.

He was right. I was lying in the hotel room, trying to catch some extra sleep between slides, but Sam was watching T.V. Not that it mattered, since Michael and Cassie ran into the room with the timer.

"Sam, Rebecca! Up and at 'em!" Michael shouted. "We've got five minutes!"

"Cutting it a bit close, aren't we?" I asked as I pulled the covers off.

"Sorry, we got distracted at breakfast. We were discussing the other Michael and other Sam." Cassie said.

"Let's just get ready. Do we have the photon trail?" I asked.

"We do. Hopefully we'll catch up this time." Michael replied.

"Doubtful." I muttered.

We gathered up our few possessions and slipped out of the hotel so that we could slide. We found an alley and Michael activated the timer, generating the portal, which we hopped into. We emerged on the other side. I stuck the landing, like usual. For Michael, Sam and Cassie, they landed on the ground.

"I take it you didn't take a gymnastics class on your world?" Sam asked as Cassie stood up and brushed herself off. "I think your knee hit my gut."

"It's not my fault, I was normally shoved into it by my Michael and Sam." Cassie rebuked.

"Let's get to work." Michael said. "Let's split up, Cassie, you're with me. Sam, and Rebecca, you're together."

I grabbed Michael's arm and pulled him towards me.

"How about you come with me and Cassie goes with Sam?" I asked, looking Michael in the eyes. He rolled his.

"Fine. The photon trail hasn't left yet, so they've got to be around here somewhere." Michael said. "We've got just over a day to look around."

"We'll check the hotel." Sam said.

"And we'll look around the city. Meet in the lobby when we're done?" Michael asked.

"You know it." Sam said.

Michael and I started walking off and we walked into a diner. We walked up the counter and I looked around to see if anything stuck out, when I heard a slap. I turned around to see Michael holding his face and an angry waitress standing in front of him.

"What was that for?" I asked.

"I told him that's what I'd do if he came back in here. After yesterday..." the waitress muttered.

"We just arrived in town. You must have him confused with someone." I said, attempting to defuse the situation. This was a good lead.

"You think I'm gonna believe that?" the waitress asked.

"It's the truth. But you know, you're not the first person to do that..." Michael said. "Last town we stopped in, a guy almost ran me out for something I did days before I arrived. Maybe that guy is who you met. My... doppelganger, I suppose."

"You do seem a lot different than that other guy... maybe you're telling the truth." the waitress said.

"Say, did you overhear any conversations he had? Where he is? I'd like to give him a piece of my mind." Michael said.

"He did have a friend with him, equally skeevy. Said something about staying at a different hotel to avoid someone. I think they said something about the Motel 12." the waitress said.

"Thanks." I said. "Let's go."

We left and rushed back to the Dominion Hotel to inform Sam and Cassie of the new intel we got. As we walked, Michael was unusually quiet.

"What's wrong?" I asked.

"You've got to calm down." Michael replied. "About Cassie."

"Calm down about what?" I questioned.

"The way you almost forced me to come with you? You're jealous!"

"I am not! I just don't trust her yet!"

"Guys!" Sam shouted as we walked into the lobby. "Find anything?"

"We did. They're at the Motel 12." Michael said. "That's not too far from here."

"Better go check it out, then." Cassie said. "Let's go."

"I think it would be better if just Sam and I scoped it out. Just to make sure that you're safe." Michael said.

"And what about me?" I asked.

"Well, I want to keep Cassie safe, so I'm keeping the most capable of our team with her." Michael smiled with his stupid grin.

I know what he's planning. He wants to force us to get to know each other. Well it isn't going to work.

We sat in the hotel room while Michael and Sam did some reconnaissance. We sat in mostly silence, except for asking for one of us to pass something to the other, like the remote or a tissue. She was the one who finally broke the silence.

"Alright. I know you don't like me. Let's air out our grievances now." she said.

"You're right. I also don't trust you. You tricked us once. How can we be sure this isn't a long con?" I asked.

"I don't blame your skepticism." Cassie said. "Truth be told I'm just happy that I have a degree of freedom here that doesn't require constant vigilance."

"Well, it's more than that..." I started.

"He doesn't like me. At least not like he likes you. He talked about you a lot when we first met, and when we were at breakfast today." Cassie interjected. "Trust me, I know that's how I'd feel if I was you. And I sort of am."

"That... makes me feel a little better, but I'm still not sold." I said.

"That's fair." Cassie said.

Suddenly, Michael and Sam returned to the room. We jumped up and ran over to them.

"What's their situation like?" I asked.

"They've got their timer with them, it's not in the room, but we checked how long their reservation was for and they check out tomorrow." Sam replied.

"Which means that they probably don't have all that much time left here. We'll have to work fast." Michael said.

We immediately got to work. Sam and Cassie managed to rent a car, and Michael and I staked out the room. We saw them return to the room and they seemed to settle in for the night. We waited until nightfall and we sneaked into the hotel room from the bathroom window. Michael went in first and I followed, as Sam and Cassie pulled up the rental car to the street in front of the hotel. Michael poked his head into the room and turned to me.

"They're out cold. I'll check the safe. You keep an eye on them." Michael whispered.

I nodded and Michael crept into the room. He walked to the open closet and knelt down to check the safe. He stood up and looked at me, nodding his head from side to side. I looked back at the two doubles when I saw a red glow coming from a crack in the end table's drawer.

"Mike!" I whispered frantically pointing at the end table.

He nodded and crept over, standing in between the two beds which held our enemies. I stepped back into the bathroom and prepared to make a run for it when one of the beds stirred. Mirror Sam sat up and turned towards the end table. Michael held their timer in his hand and started to make a run for it.

"Boss!" Mirror Sam shouted, causing Mirror Michael to sit up as well.

Mirror Sam grabbed Michael's arm. I rushed out and punched him, but Mirror Michael grabbed me. I fought back, but Mirror Sam overpowered Michael and tossed the timer aside.

"Looks like they caught up with us. Shocked that it wasn't in the safe?" Mirror Michael asked.

"Just give us the coordinates for your Rebecca's homeworld and we'll leave you alone." Michael replied.

"If only it were that easy. Your timer. I want it." Mirror Michael said.

"Unfortunately, I don't have it. Left it in the safe." Michael said.

"I guess I'll just have to kill her." Mirror Michael said, pulling out a gun and putting it to my head.

"Go ahead." I said. "I'd rather die than see you keep the timer."

That wasn't true, but it sounded cool. A knock came on the door and we all froze. Mirror Michael tossed me to Mirror Sam who held onto both Michael and I fairly well and Mirror Michael opened the door. He was thrown back and into the room came Sam and Cassie.

"Get them!" Mirror Michael shouted.

Mirror Sam hesitated for a moment, and tossed Michael and I into a wall. We crumpled to the floor. I had hit my head so I was knocked unconscious. I was shaken awake by Cassie a few minutes later. Mirror Michael and Mirror Sam were on the ground. I saw their timer right within my grasp.

"Come on!" Cassie shouted as she ran to the bathroom window.

I lunged for the timer and grabbed it, rushing to the bathroom window. I started to climb out of it when I felt my arm grabbed again, and saw Mirror Michael holding it. I tried to pull away, but I couldn't. He pulled my arm down and grabbed the window. He went to slam the window onto my wrist and I dropped the timer. He released my arm and I ran off. I got to the front of the hotel and hopped in the car. Sam peeled out and we were on our way back to the Dominion.

"What took you so long?" Michael asked.

"I tried to get the timer. And I would have if I hadn't gotten caught in the window." I replied.

"As long as you're safe, I'd call that a victory." Michael said, hugging me. "Sorry, Cassie."

"It's fine. I saw it there, but I didn't want to risk anything so I didn't grab it." Cassie said.

All in all, it was an unsuccessful heist. But the benefit of that slide was that it made me realize I was being silly. Yeah, Michael likes me, but he likes me for more than just what I look like. He likes everything that makes me me, that Cassie doesn't have. But he does care about Cassie, though it's more like she's a sister, and I guess she sort of is, since if she's sort of like my twin it would make her his sister-in-law if we were married. And I guess that's the lesson I learned, don't let yourself get caught in a window holding a timer and don't get jealous of myself.

"Hey, Rebecca!" Michael shouted. "We're about to slide!"

Rebecca looked up from writing in a notebook. She closed it and put it her pocket. She smiled as she saw Cassie emerge from the bathroom, still brushing her hair.

"Cutting it a little close, aren't we?" Cassie asked.

"Let's go!" Rebecca laughed as she ran out of the room.

 _ **To Be Continued...**_


	7. Chapter 6

Chapter 6:

 _Author's Note: This is meant to take place at some point between "King Shark" and "Trajectory". However, it's not canon with The Flash, rather this is a similar universe to Arrowverse-Earth One where identical events occurred. This is done mainly to avoid any consequences from the various time travel shenanigans on The Flash, and because of the revelations about Zoom that occur in "Trajectory" are contradicted by this story._

The group was traveling through the vortex. As normally, it was rather chaotic, with the blur of colors all around them. Michael turned around and looked towards his friends. Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed a black blur before they reached the apex of the portal. A portal opened up in a nondescript, quiet street in Central City. Three figures tumbled out of the portal. Michael stood up and looked around, and noticed that a member of the group was missing.

"Rebecca!" Michael shouted.

"Where'd she go? She was just with us!" Sam said.

"Maybe there was a distortion in the portal and it opened up somewhere else." Cassie said.

"No, something happened in there. I saw... something in the portal. I don't know what it was, it was a blur... But I saw something, or someone." Michael said.

Meanwhile, at S.T.A.R. Labs, an alarm was going off. Caitlin Snow and Cisco Ramon ran to the computer station in the center of the Cortex. A red blur flashed by and Barry Allen, The Flash, stood in the center of the room, fully clad in his costume.

"What's going on?" Barry asked.

"We've got a... breach." Caitlin said, her voice dropping at the last word.

"But we closed them all, how is that possible?" Barry said.

"No idea." Cisco said. "The signal we picked up was at the corner of Aventine and Exeter."

"Could be Zoom. I'll check it out." Barry said, before disappearing from the Cortex.

He ran towards the intersection as the trio began looking around for their missing friend. He stopped in front of the trio.

"Holy crap!" Sam shouted. "That was so fast!"

"You!" Michael shouted and rushed towards The Flash. "You took her!"

He quickly placed himself behind Cassie. Michael turned around and ran towards him again, but Barry yet again ran faster than him and placed himself several feet away.

"Michael, what's going on?" Cassie asked.

"Yeah, I'd like to know that too." Barry said.

"In the vortex, I saw a blur when Rebecca went missing! And this guy shows up running real fast right after?" Michael asked.

"Wait, did you say you saw a blur?" Barry asked. "Was it black?"

"Yeah." Michael said, relaxing his posture.

"It wasn't me... But I know who took your friend." Barry said. "He's someone I've been chasing for a while."

" _What's going on, Barry?" Cisco asked through Barry's suit._

" _It seems like the breach has closed itself, if that's possible." Caitlin said._

"Give me a minute, guys." Barry said before turning back to the trio. "You three, we detected some sort of dimensional breach in this area."

"That would be us." Sam said.

"You created a breach?" Barry asked.

"It's a long story." Cassie said. "But you said you might know who took our friend?"

"Yeah. Give me a second." Barry said.

Just as he said that, he disappeared from the spot he was standing in. The trio looked around, puzzled as they waited.

Barry, just around the corner, watched them.

"Guys, we've got a problem. Three people came out of the breach, and they lost someone along the way. I think Zoom has something to do with it." Barry said.

" _Are they metas?" Cisco asked._

"Don't think so, they seemed pretty shocked at my speed." Barry replied. "But they said that they created the breach. And they said that a black blur showed up in their breach before one of their friends went missing."

" _Sounds like Zoom." Cisco said._

" _Bring them back to S.T.A.R. Labs with you." Caitlin said._

"Got it." Barry said.

He rushed back to the trio, still standing around on the corner.

"Alright, so my friends can help you. But we've got to go to our base of operations." Barry said. "Do you mind if I take you there?"

"Not at all." Cassie said.

"Good." Barry said.

Barry grabbed Cassie and disappeared, running back to the lab. He returned and grabbed Sam, leaving Michael standing alone for only a few moments before Barry returned to whisk him to S.T.A.R. Labs.

The trio was very disoriented by the experience, as they suddenly found themselves in an elevator with Barry pressing a button.

"I figured you'd send a car or something, but that works..." Michael said, dazed.

"This is your base?" Sam asked. "Beats our dorm room."

"Beats Quinn's basement too." Michael joked.

"So you said you know something about the blur?" Cassie asked.

"Yeah, the blur is called Zoom. He's a speedster, like me, but he's evil. We just locked him away on his world." Barry replied. "I'll be able to explain better with my friends. I'm The Flash by the way."

"I'm Sam." he held his hand out to shake Barry's. "This is Michael, and this is Cassie."

"Nice to meet you." Cassie said.

The elevator opened and a man in glasses, wearing a black long sleeved shirt held his wrist out, flicking open a watch. He looked at the trio as they stood next to Barry.

"They're human." the man said, before turning and walking back down the hallway.

"What was that?" Cassie asked.

"That was Harry. Zoom kidnapped his daughter, and he just got her back, so he's a little on edge about anything involving breaches." Barry replied.

They continued walking down the hallway until they got to the Cortex. Caitlin and Cisco stood up and watched the newcomers as they walked in.

"These are our new breachers. They're not metas, and they create their own breaches." Barry said.

"How is that even possible?" Cisco exclaimed. "Zoom can't even do that! As far as we know, at least."

"With this." Michael said, pulling the timer out of his pocket. "We call it a timer."

"A timer... that's... actually a really good name." Cisco said. "How does it work?"

"It's a really long story, maybe I'll explain it later but right now I need to know everything about this Zoom guy and how I can get my friend back." Michael said. "You said you locked him away on his world. How do we get there?"

"That's the thing... We can't. We closed all the breaches between his world and ours." Caitlin said. "There's no way to re-open them that we've figured out."

"But then how did this Zoom guy get into our vortex and take Rebecca?" Sam asked.

"Your timer thing, must have breached into his Earth as well." Cisco said. "That's amazing."

"Do you think it could do it again?" Barry asked. "Make it open a breach?"

"Can't do that. As the name implies, it's set on a timer. We can't use it again for... three days, six hours and seventeen minutes. And when it goes off, it's random." Michael said.

"Can I..." Cisco started. "Actually, can we have a minute? Can you wait in the hall?"

"Sure." Cassie said.

The three sliders walked out into the hallway. Harry and a girl, presumably his daughter walked past them into the cortex.

"So, do we trust them? I want to start working with them to re-open the breaches." Cisco asked. "But we've had a bad track record of people showing up in breaches."

"I think they're on the level but..." Barry started.

"They're not metas, but that doesn't mean that they're not trying to trick us." Harry said. "We can't risk anything."

"We trusted Jay and, he helped us a lot." Caitlin said. "If it wasn't for him, you'd all be stranded with Zoom on Earth Two."

"I say we do it." Barry said.

"Fine." Harry said. "But if they betray us..."

"All right." Caitlin said, walking to the threshold to call back in the sliders, who returned to the Cortex.

"Can I take a look at your timer?" Cisco asked. "I might be able to copy the design and create our own breaching device."

Michael looked at Sam and Cassie, who affirmatively nodded.

"All right. But be careful, if we don't get to leave when it times out, we're trapped here for the next thirty years." Michael said, handing the timer to Cisco.

"I'll be very careful then." Cisco said, carefully looking it over in his hands.

Meanwhile, Rebecca woke up in a dark cell. She stood up and steadied herself on the bars.

"Hello?" Rebecca shouted.

She looked at the cell across from her, and saw a figure standing in a mask. He started tapping on his cell. Suddenly, a black figure rushed into the cell, pushing Rebecca up against the wall.

"Tell me how you breached." the figure ordered in a raspy tone.

"I don't know what you're talking about."

"Open the breach again!"

"I can't. I don't have the device to do it. My friends do."

"Very well." the figure stepped back and dropped Rebecca to the ground. "Flash and his team will likely re-open the breach soon enough..."

Michael finished his demonstration at the white board in Cisco's workshop as Cisco looked over the timer.

"Okay, so you're saying that this timer just finds the weakest point in the dimensional barrier and breaches it?" Cisco said.

"Essentially, through the use of Einstein-Rosen-Podolsky bridges." Michael said.

"Wormholes..." Cisco said. "I'm sorry but this is just so cool!"

"Yeah, I'm not the foremost authority on it, I didn't invent the timer, a friend of mine did, but I managed to replicate his work." Michael said.

As they continued looking over the equations, Detective Joe West walked in, but he jumped back when he saw Michael. He reached for his gun and removed it from the holster.

"Cisco! Get back!" Joe shouted. "You! Hands up!"

"What the heck is going on?" Cisco asked.

Michael put his hands up as Joe stepped towards Cisco.

"This guy's been on our radar for a week." Joe said. "Been knocking down electronics stores."

"But he just showed up in a breach less than an hour ago." Cisco said. "He's not from this Earth."

"I can explain... before Rebecca went missing... we were tracking down our evil doubles." Michael said.

"More doppelgangers... I hate all this multiple Earth stuff. I thought once we closed those breaches it'd be over." Joe sighed, putting his gun away. "Sorry, but I have to think about protecting and serving before I think about all this crazy stuff."

"No problem. I think you're the first person to point a gun at me that's ever apologized for it." Michael said. "And I apologize for my double."

Sam and Cassie sat in the Cortex, as Caitlin, Barry, Harry and Jesse walked around, doing various activities.

"I just feel so useless." Cassie said. "I don't know the timer so I can't help Michael and Cisco and I don't know anything about this world so I can't help them."

"Don't feel useless." Sam said. "They'll need us soon enough."

Suddenly, Michael rushed into the room, as Cisco followed, holding a device that looked like the timer, only larger.

"You did it?" Caitlin asked.

"Yep!" Cisco exclaimed. "It was awesome, once I figured out the equation, I was able to copy nearly exactly what they have in their timer. But... ours is pre-programmed with Earth Two's coordinates."

"We're keeping that name?" Harry asked.

"Yes, we're keeping the name." Michael replied.

"So, how early can we go save Rebecca?" Sam asked.

"The thing is, Barry needs to be here. Last time we left, metas almost laid waste to the city, it was only with Jay's..." Cisco started, before seeing Caitlin bow her head. "Someone has to protect the city."

"Then we'll go." Cassie said. "Leave Barry here."

"Out of the question." Harry slammed down the tool he was holding. "Zoom is faster than Barry. He will kill you instantly, because once he has your device, he will take over every world he finds. If you want your friend to be rescued, leave it to the professionals."

"How long have you guys been dealing with other-dimensional threats? Six months? Maybe a year? We've been doing it for a lot longer than you. I think we can handle ourselves." Michael walked up to Harry. "We took out an entire race of being bent on dominating the multiverse."

Harry scoffed and picked up his tools. He walked towards the door of the Cortex, turning around before he walked through the threshold.

"Ramon, Snow, show them Zoom's death toll." Harry said.

"He's not wrong. Just not going about it in the nicest way." Caitlin said. "Even with powers, Zoom can kill you. He killed Jay, he could have killed Barry."

"I can't just sit here and let Rebecca be tortured by this Zoom guy." Michael said.

The entire room seemed to quiet down as everyone started thinking deeply. Cisco was the first to speak up.

"I've got an idea." Cisco said. "I might be able to get some help to protect the city this time. Maybe Star City can lend us some protection."

"And I think we can arm you guys with something that can handle Zoom." Jesse said. "Right, Cisco?"

"Yeah, I can retrofit some meta equipment for Zoom." Cisco said.

In Zoom's prison, the other prisoner kept tapping on the cell. Rebecca slowly stood up and walked towards the edge of the cell.

"I don't understand the code!" Rebecca shouted. "I wish I did but..."

The figure kept tapping. Rebecca looked around the cell, not seeing anything that could help her escape.

"Never thought I'd be wishing to be back in a Kromagg prison..." Rebecca mused. "Michael, Sam, Cassie... where are you?"

Later, Barry rushed back into the Cortex, catching his breath as he took off his mask. The trio were mildly surprised to see that, much like the rest of Team Flash, he was relatively close to their own age, yet gave off the air of experience.

"All right, are we all set?" Barry asked. "Team Arrow lent us some help temporarily in case something happens when we're gone."

"The timer is set. Thanks to the geographic stabilizer in it, we could pinpoint in a small enough radius that if we go there, we'll stay in relatively the same spot we are here, give or take. We go in, and using the element of surprise, we can attack Zoom's base." Cisco said.

"Who's coming?" Barry asked.

"Us." Michael said, as he, Sam and Cassie stood up.

"And me." Cisco said.

"I'll sit this one out. In case something goes wrong I'm the smartest one here." Harry said.

"Then I guess it's just the five of us. Can the vortex sustain that?" Cassie asked.

"Quinn's could, so we should be good." Michael replied.

"Let's go to Earth 2." Barry said.

Cisco activated his timer. A vortex appeared in the middle of the Cortex. Everyone stood and marveled at it.

"Okay, we've got to be back here in three days, cause our timer only works from this Earth." Michael said. "With Rebecca."

"That's the plan." Barry said.

The speedster, sliders and viber leaped into the portal. It closed after they entered it as Caitlin, Jesse and Harry watched on in the Cortex.

"They're doomed." Harry said, flatly.

 _ **To Be Continued...**_


End file.
